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Social Science Urban

Hard Choices

Financial Exclusion, Fringe Banks and Poverty in Urban Canada

by (author) Jerry Buckland

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Mar 2012
Category
Urban, Banks & Banking, General, Economic Conditions
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442640337
    Publish Date
    Mar 2012
    List Price
    $100.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442612525
    Publish Date
    Mar 2012
    List Price
    $48.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442662612
    Publish Date
    Mar 2012
    List Price
    $38.95

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Description

When low-income city dwellers lack access to mainstream banking services, many end up turning to ‘fringe banks,’ such as cheque-cashers and pawnshops, for some or all of their financial transactions. This predicament of ‘financial exclusion’ – faced by those underserved by conventional financial institutions – is comprehensively examined in Jerry Buckland's powerful study, Hard Choices.

The first account of the nature and causes of financial exclusion in Canada, Hard Choices thoroughly integrates economic and social data on consumer choice, bank behaviour, and government policy. Buckland demonstrates why the current two-tier system of banking is becoming increasingly dysfunctional, especially in the context of new credit products that aggravate income inequality and stifle local economic growth. Featuring a foreword by esteemed economics scholar John P. Caskey, Hard Choices presents pragmatic policy improvements on both the public and private levels that can promote and build financial inclusion for all.

About the author

Jerry Buckland is a professor at Menno Simons College at the Canadian Mennonite University, and affiliated with the University of Winnipeg.

Jerry Buckland's profile page